Always keep looking for better barbecue. Never stop.

More than one would-be connoisseur has directed me to TC's Rib Crib, planted in the restaurant-rich Vons shopping center at Desert Inn and Durango. It's a family-owned and operated eatery, serving all the barbecue basics, along with terrific sides like Big Sam's baked beans and Cousin Joe's greens, fried catfish on Friday (get it?) and glazed-donut bread pudding for dessert.

Whether you're gnawing on spare ribs or baby backs, these are probably the best ribs in Vegas, perfectly tender with enough smoky flavor and gooey with honey-sweet sauce. The pulled pork — really chopped more than pulled — is another savory standout, although the meat is sweet enough without the house barbecue sauce. Skip the brisket, too dry and sliced thin.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, TC's shifts into a Southern breakfast palace, complete with catfish & eggs, serious biscuits and gravy, and chicken wings or hot links on the side. If the ribs didn't get you, these buttermilk waffles will. TC's may be battling it out with the big boys of barbecue, but the other guys don't bring this extra dimension of a.m. yum.